Andy Vallentine’s Passion and Creative Inspiration on The Letter Men

Hi, I am Andy Vallentine and I’m a video & film director based in Los Angeles. I draw my creative inspiration from my early experiences being a dyslexic gay kid in small-town Michigan. The experience of being an outsider solidified something essential in me that continues to inform the way I tell stories.

I’ve worked with recording artists like Charlie Puth and Tritonal and popular media personalities like Patrick Starrr and Joey Graceffa and created commercial content for Mercedes-Benz, MAC Cosmetics, Sephora, The Department of Veterans Affairs.

indieactivity: Are you only directing your own projects, or you’re open for hire?
Andy Vallentine (AV): Both! I’m passionate about telling compelling stories of all sorts, whether they originate from me or not. But I have recently put a lot of work into bringing some of my own projects to life that I’m really proud of and showcasing my perspective. I recently directed a short film called The Letter Men which will have its world premiere at Tribeca this summer.

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I am also wrapping up post-production on my feature film, The Mattachine Family. I serve as the creative director at my production company, The Audio Visual Crew, where we create content for various brands like Mercedes-Benz, The Ad Council, and The Department of Veteran Affairs.

Do you hire a casting director, or cast by yourself? If so, what criteria go into your casting? What went into the casting process for The Letter Man?
Andy Vallentine (AV): It really depends on the budget and the scope of the project. I was fortunate with my short film that I had a mutual connection with Garrett Clayton and was friends with Matthew Postlethwaite. It was a dream to work with these two actors. I admire them both enormously and was honored that they said yes to our little short film.

Without giving anything away, tell us a little bit about the script, how did you come up with the idea?
Andy Vallentine (AV): The Letter Men is based on the real love letters written by Gordon Bowsher to his sweetheart, Gilbert Bradley. Their love letters were exchanged between the years of 1938 and 1941 but were uncovered in 2017. Life as a homosexual at that time was incredibly difficult.

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Gay activity was a court-martial offense, jail sentences for so-called “gross indecency” were common, and much of society strongly disapproved of same-sex relationships. Using the actual text of the letters, The Letter Men transports us directly into the places of the letters and their hearts, battlefields, air raid shelters, and lost, golden moments.

When did you form your production company – and how did that come to life?
Andy Vallentine (AV): I formed The Audio Visual Crew in 2016 when I started winning more jobs. I needed that infrastructure around me to support all my growing projects. As the budgets grew for all my production work, so did all the costs for insurance, logistics, crew, etc. I now have a team of producers and editors who work with me in creating all our various content.

How long did it take to shoot the entire film?
Andy Vallentine (AV): We shot for 3 days in and around Los Angeles, CA.

How long was the post-production process?
AV: A few months. This film was very much a passion project, I called in a number of favors to bring the film to life. It took us about 3 months to totally complete The Letter Men.

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What are your goals with The Letter Men?
AV: I would love to expand our short into a feature film or mini-series. The fact that Gordon’s letters survived is a gift to all of us and there is so much within them about their relationship, queer culture, the tragedies they both experienced from the war, and the unconditional love they had for each other.

We have a couple of interesting ideas on how we could adapt their letters and their story into something that reflects the importance of the letters and their love within the larger context of their time.

What’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
AV: I’m actually wrapping up post-production on my first feature film, The Mattachine Family! The film is a beautiful LGBTQ+ indie feature about one man’s journey to find his chosen family. The film was written by my creative partner and husband Danny Vallentine drawing on our own personal journey to becoming fathers.

This film is being produced by Zach Braff (Garden State) and Scot Boland (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Flight). The film stars Nico Tortorella (Younger, The Walking Dead: World Beyond) and Juan Pablo Di Pace (Mamma Mia!, Fuller House). You can look for it to hit the festival scene in late 2022, or early 2023.

What do you recommend to a young director at the beginning of his/ her journey? Any special courses, workshops, or helpful books they can read?
AV: Get out there and make as many videos as you can for as many people as possible. It’s important along the way to understand you won’t always be making videos for yourself, and the sooner you have experience working for clients, the better.

Filmmaking is all about collaboration, and it’s essential that you learn to work with others and recognize other peoples’ strengths so you can learn to apply only the best to your projects.

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